friday dance - shake your body

i saw this:



and said "1:11 minutes?! hell naw..."  and found this:



happy friday.  shake your body.  that is all.

Lindy Hop Challenge - Day 4

your favorite live band...

ok...  NOW, i'm getting frustrated with the narrow focus of these questions....  can my favorite live band be a band that doesn't focus on swing music?  can my favorite live band be a band that is now defunct?  can i have favorite bands in different cities?  can my favorite live band be a band i've never seen live?

yaaaar...

i'm just going to post videos of some of my favorite bands, who i have seen live, in alphabetical order...  so. there.  :p

bill elliot



george gee



indigo swing




lavay smith and her red hot skillet lickers

Lindy hop Challenge - Day 3

"...a description of your favorite partner (and why they're your favorite)...."

i don't think  i have an actual favorite partner although usually the people i most enjoy dancing with have a few things in common - in no particular order:

*  they're teachers who have heavily inspired groove era dancers (hey, what can i say - i'm a creature of groove habit), they are groove era dancers or they have learned from and elaborate on their roots from groove era dance teachers.



*  they are avid interpreters of music - one of the things i love most about partner dancing is the conversation you have with your partner.  i'm always curious about creative process and fascinated by what a lead hears in music and am instantly inspired to respond creatively - hoping to reciprocate the spark...



*  they ask me to dance because they genuinely want to dance with me - not as a test to see if i can keep up with them.  i'm always humbled and excited when i'm asked to dance - but there's nothing that deflates my outlook more than that realization...  and it's so easy to tell the difference between a genuine dance request and a fake one within the first few bars/swingouts, etc...  so take note, leads & follows - you're only with your partner for 4 minutesish - make. it. count.



*  they're f*cking hilarious.  they're the butt of their own jokes.  they go above and beyond the call of duty to encourage you to forget your troubles... and smile.  :)

Lindy hop Challenge - Day 2

my favorite place to dance....

i'm not sure how to answer this question - my favorite place to dance now? or like EVAR!?  i hate to sound wishy washy but i really do have many favorite places to dance.

currently, i have two favorite places to dance in chicago -

1) swing dancing at fizz (full disclosure, i work there part time) - i feel the most at home here...  almost too homey though...  i often find i chatty face here more than dance sometimes.  :)



2)  black rock -  i enjoy going to black rock because it's a lovely space, very comfortable and very familiar in that old chicago bar sense...  the crew of staff & regulars are really laid back and casual.  i feel a certain amount of duty/responsibility at swing at fizz because i'm also staff.  so, it's nice to have black rock to run to if i didn't get my dance on at fizz....

in san francisco,  my favorite place to dance has always been -

1) lindy in the park - it's moved from it's original location at the bandshell (see below), but it's still hella fun.  :)



however, when they were still open - The Doghouse - where i also taught with chad kubo and jason christodoulou.



and spencer's joint at dna lounge - we're also considered my homes away from home.

last but certainly not least...  the casino ballroom on catalina island....  where all kinds of magic happen...  not to mention - OLAFS!!!








which reminds me...  have you pinned your "best spot to lindy hop in the US" yet?

30 Day Lindy Hop Challenge

I saw this 30 day blog challenge on the vernacular jazz dance blog - it's 30 days of lindy hop blogging.  I'm going to *try* this challenge even though i've failed miserably at so many challenges...  it may not seem like it, but i do enjoy blogging so this is my meager effort to keep trying to blog...  :)  I like the questions on this challenge and  I think it can be edited to fit other hobbies...  ok, wish me luck, here goes nothing...  :)

1)  What got you started in lindy hop?

The desire to meet new people in a new city.

When I moved to San Francisco in 1995, I only knew three people - a dear friend and former fashion dept classmate of mine - Steven, his roomate - Sam and a close friend (of my former boyfriend) - Christian.  I was so lucky to have those three yahoos in my life - they were my family away from family...

Most of my daily life was spent with my roomates, Steven & Sam and their three cats - Monster, Buttons & Frisbee.  Christian and I bonded early on by our love of vintage clothing, music, furnishings, ephemera, etc...  We often walked over to Club Deluxe in the upper haight to drink, listen to music, drink more and street swing:



at one point, I was in between garment industry jobs and met another temp who was a student of paul and sharon's at the metronome ballroom. we decided to meet after work at a new club that opened called the hi-ball:

 

 when i watched my co-worker endlessly lindy hop with many leads, i was equal amounts jealous and inspired - and i wanted to take classes from paul and sharon too.

 so thanks, angela for leading me to paul and sharon... and thanks, paul & sharon for teaching and guiding me all those many years ago.... :)